MEIKLE COMMISSION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10659, 12 May 1906, Page 4

MEIKLE COMMISSION.

LAMBERT'S EVIDENCE. (Special to Herald.) DUNEDIN. last night. The Dunedin sitting of the Meikle Com. mission has concluded. Their Honors will sit on Monday at Wellington, where further evidence and the addresses of counsel will bo heard. The sittings therq_ are not likely to be lengthy, ns Judge Edwards leaves for Auckland and Judgo Cooper for Dunedin on Frida3 r , to open the criminal sessions m each objective city on the 21st iust. Their Honors will again meet m Wellington on June 27th to give . further consideration to tho Meikle case, either iv the way of hearing any fresh evidence, or of preparing their report m connection with the Commission.

The final day's sitting here was occupied almost wholly with the evidence and cross-examination of William Lambert. He denied emphatically that there was ever any arrangement- that he should put skins on Mcikle's land, or that he was m a conspiracy to have Meikle convicted wrongfully. He declared that when he was employed by the New Zealand Mortgage and Investment Company as a private detective to obtain a conviction against a. person who was stealing sheep from Islay station, he did not sus. pect that Meikle avus the thief, but he soon formed an impression that Meikle was a cunning man. The witness, with a frankness that was refreshing, told the Commission how, having formed this impression, he went to work to test Meikle's innocence or guilt m regard to the depredations. I quote his testimony on this point : "In order to settle the question of Meikle's guilt or innocence, I determined to get into his confidence. On the occasion of my first conversation with Meikle he asked me what I was doing there for tho Company, and I told him I was there to see who was taking tine sheep from Ftie Company's land, and if I got a conviction against the person who was taking them I was to get £50. Meikle's people were sowing grass seed, and as I had some seed at my hut, I told him if he liked he could have' some. He said all right. Arthur would go down that night. Arthur Meikle did not come for the grass seed that night. I think he came the night after. He took away about half a bagful of seed, leaving between nine and ten. The next time I met Meikle he asked me up to his house, Arthur meanwhilo having come for the 'remainder of the grass seed. A little while after this I spent an evening with Hie Meikle family. No mention was ever made of the reason of m- being on the station. On one occasion I Ment to 'Meikle's stable, and tltey were. trying to heal up the brand on a horse with a lotion. Arthur Meikle told me they were going to take the horse to Dunedin to sell it as soon as tho brand was sufficiently healed. Young Meikle told me the brand had been altered. He said it was one of Carswell White's horses, wliich had been lost. I tokl liim it was nothing to do with me. I knew shortly afterwards that the horse had been stolen, and I gave information to the police. Before the 17th October I had got into Meikle's confidence. He asked me to come and shear for him, and if 1 did so I was to shut my mouth and say nothing about what I saw. I was to get' a share of the proceeds of the wool. The sheep were to be some of the Company's, some of Mr Brown's, and some of Mr Wallace's. I remember the night I called at Gregg's hut.. On my returning home, when about half the distance, I got over the fence, and there' met Arthur Meikle driving sheep. I asked him what he was doing. He said he was taking them homo to get a fat one. I let him get about thirty or forty yards ahead of me, and then followed. I saw him drive tho sheep through a gate on to Meikle's land. I pot through, the fence and rejoined .young Meikle while lie drove the sheep into the sheep-yards. The elder Meikle came over with a lantern, which he placed on a bag of lime or coal m the smithy. Two or three sheep were then shoved through the door and the rest followed. Arthur Meikle then counted the whoop. There were twentyeight. The sheep were then let out into the yard, except one, which was kept back' and killed by young Meikle. The elder Meikle went over to the house, and wliilo he was away Arthur Meikle skinned the sliieep. throwing the skin over some bags. Then the elder Meikle came back and told his son to cut tho ears off and the fire brand out. He said be would defy the Company. I then went back to my hut. When the count was being made I heard one of the Meikles say there was one ram among the sheet). Next day I reported the occurrence to the manager of the station. At Meikle's trial- 1 swore the dale of the theft to have been October 17th, but 1 believe 1 qualified mv statement. I fixed tho date as being that of the night when T went to Gregg's hut, and the night Mac George left the hut. fn Invercargill I asked Mr Gregg if he knew wlwt the date was, and he replied it avus the 17th. The night I saw the slieep stolen was the night- of my yis'it to Gregg, and the occasion of Mac. George leaving the hut. I know now that Mr Troup fixes the date at the 18th." Tbo witness emphatically denied that be liad ever told Meikle that he was to get £50 for putting skins m his (Meikle's) smithy, so as to get him convicted, nor had he ever said tluit he was wailing for £10 of "blood money" from Mr Stuart. After Meikle's arrest Lambert said that he read a letter m which Meikle declared his intention of sueing the Company for £5000. of which be (Lambert) was to get £1000. Witness had always held that ho was wrongfully convicted of perjury. Ho was 46 years of age, and uad given up drink for eleven years. Before that time he occasionally took too much liquor, and had been twice fined for assault. About twenty-tlu-ee years ago, m a drunken bout with some companions, he stole a bottle of whiskey, for which he got seven days' imprisonment. With these exceptions there was nothing against his character. Cross-examined by Mr Atkinson, witness denied tluit he had -talked about sheep-stealing, and the fact that he was to receive £50 upon obtaining a conviction m a light airy way, m the presence of Meikle's servants. After he saw Meikle and his son altering the brand on the horse he got more fully into their confidence. He had never said to anyone that he was going to put either sheep or skins on Meikle's place. The £5000 which Meikle wrote to say he expected to get from the Company was, he said, to be divided among four or five persons, including witness. Robt. Troup was 're -called, to pvove that no letter ever reached his hands containing the statement that Meikle offered to share £5000 among certain persons. He was manager on Islay station for two years after Meikle's conviction. In two -months prior to this conviction there were about eighty -seven sheep belonging to the Company missing. After tho conviction there were no sheep missed.